Tendulkar and Zaheer's absence won't hurt Mumbai: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma is confident that his team would prove to be quite a handful for hosts Rajasthan.

Jaipur: The absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan notwithstanding, Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma is confident that his team would prove to be quite a handful for hosts Rajasthan in their Ranji Trophy match starting at the KL Saini Stadium in Mansarovar on Friday.

Talking to the media after a practice session, Rohit said that although Tendulkar and Zaheer would be missed, Mumbai was used to playing without them.

“Yes, they played brilliantly in the first game against Railways and would surely be missed. But they were there only for one match. For quite some time now Mumbai has to play without them because they are busy serving the country,” he retorted.

“But we do have some promising youngsters like Sardul Thakur and Akhil Hairwadkar… So we are capable of putting up a tough fight. “We have seen the wicket at Mansarovar. Still, it will be a new one for us because most of us have played only at the Sawai Man Singh stadium,” he added.

On the other hand, Rajasthan would be looking to exploit a weakened Mumbai.

“We are confident. And surely, they would be lacking the experience of Sachin and Zaheer. That said, we won't be taking them lightly because we know the depth of Mumbai cricket,” said host skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar.